The role of community in behaviors towards water in the red river delta and the central highlands of Vietnam

Abstract

Abstract In Vietnam, the region of Red River Delta is the primary living space of the Viet ethnic group; whereas, the Central Highlands region is currently the home of 11 ethnic minority groups. Water is a valuable natural resource essential to these communities’ existence, development and creation. Thus, throughout their long history, these communities have developed a specific attitude towards water: they need, treasure and fear water at the same time. Inhabitants of both the Red River Delta and the Central Highlands worship water gods and they consider these gods supreme beings in the pantheon. The development of the cult of water in the two regions has been attributed to the role of associated communities. However, due to the differences in geographical, geo-historical and geo-cultural positions and trajectories between the Red River Delta and the Central Highlands, the role of the community in the emergence and development of the cult of water in these two regions are also different. This chapter, therefore, will examine the role of the community in the cult of water, which is manifested through: the role of priests, the role of villages and other subjects and objects associated with the cult of water in the two regions. The result of this study provides an overview of culture–religion history developed in different cultural spaces of Vietnam.